The Word Circus (Lighter Side of Language) [Hardcover]

Richard Lederer (Author), Dave Morice (Illustrator)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0877793549 | ISBN-13: 978-0877793540 | Publication Date: January 1998 | Edition: 1

A fun and frolicking book of word play. Hundreds of acrostics, anagrams, puns, riddles, spoonerisms, and much more. Features a full chapter of skill-testing word games.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Richard Lederer gets a greater charge out of the English language than a kid gets from a Volkswagen full of clowns. His playful examination of "the most tintinnabulating of the world's tongues" in The Word Circus is more fun than a barrel of monkeys (however fun that is), and Dave Morice's illustrations are no sideshow: they are as clever and charming as the text they accompany.

There's a lot going on in Lederer's big tent. Words are beheaded in one ring (the devil becomes evil) and curtailed in another (watch this priest become someone who pries). Over there, they're being cut right in two (does he bewilder? Be wilder!). Step right up, barks our emcee at the homophone (ewe/u/yew/you), and watch me juggle one phrase to make another: hand me the nudist colony and I'll show you no untidy clothes. Palindromes, like push-me-pull-yous, parade to and fro. And oh, the verbal freaks you'll meet: grammagrams, heteronyms, vowelless things; consonant packs (catchphrase) and silent strings (Brougham).

According to Lederer, the late poet James Merrill once commented that, "We speak wistfully of sounding the depths of language, but language has its shallows too, and we can drown in those just as easily as in the raptures of the former." Lederer certainly does. Let his circus begin! --Jane Steinberg

About the Author

Richard Lederer (born May 26, 1938) is an American author, speaker, and teacher best known for his books on word play and the English language and his use of oxymorons. His column, "Looking at Language", is syndicated in newspapers and magazines throughout the United States.

In 1998, he, along with Charles Harrington Elster, became founding co-hosts of the weekly radio show, A Way with Words, broadcast by KPBS, San Diego Public Radio, and heard world-wide via streaming internet and podcast. In October, 2006, Lederer retired from A Way with Words. He continues broadcasting through regular guest appearances on several major market public and Clear-Channel commercial radio stations.

Lederer attended Haverford College as a pre-med student. He attended Harvard Law School for one year, then switched to the Master of Arts in Teaching Program at Harvard University. He taught English and media at St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire for 27 years, and earned a Ph.D in Linguistics from the University of New Hampshire.

He has written more than 30 books, including Anguished English, Get Thee to a Punnery, Crazy English, A Man of My Words, The Word Circus, The Miracle of Language, The Cunning Linguist, and Word Wizard, and Presidential Trivia. Known as a "verbivore", a word he coined in the early 1980s, Lederer's interests include uncovering word origins, pointing out common grammatical errors and fallacies, and exploring palindromes, anagrams, and other forms of recreational wordplay. He has been elected International Punster of the Year and was the 2002 recipient of the Golden Gavel of Toastmasters International. He is a member of American Mensa, and is often a featured speaker at its gatherings.

Lederer is the father of Howard Lederer and Annie Duke, both world-renowned poker players, and Katy Lederer, an author and poet. He lives with his wife, Simone van Egeren, in San Diego, California. They met at a Mensa Gathering.

Poet and artist Dave Morice received his PhD in library science from the University of Iowa and continues to bring the magic of poetry to people of all ages through his work in senior centers and public schools. He is the author and illustrator of many books for children and adults, including The Dictionary of Word Play, The Adventures of Dr. Alphabet, and Poetry Comics: An Animated Anthology.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 312 pages
• Publisher: Merriam-Webster; 1 edition (January 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877793549
• ISBN-13: 978-0877793540
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 7.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,521,935 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Dave Morice was born in St Louis and moved to Iowa City in 1969 to earn a degree in the University of Iowa's Writers Workshop. He has written thousands of poems, drawn thousands of cartoons, taught thousands of students, and raised one son, Danny, whom he considers the most enjoyable project of his life. In 1974, Dave painted colorful letters randomly on a white shirt, pants, shoes, cane, and tophat and turned into Dr. Alphabet, a man of letters. At the same time, he wrote concrete poems and edited Matchbook magazine under the name Joyce Holland as a literary hoax. He is currently a working staff member at Uptown Bill's Coffee House, and he is teaching at Kirkwood College. A prolific artist and writer, Dave continually seeks out new ways to create: "You can't step into the same stream of consciousness twice." He acts on his ideas for the sake of art to contribute to cultural education in the community and to express his irrepressible spirit. He has published 26 books as well as being the prime sponsor of dozens of poetry marathons, literary events, artistic happenings and Ripley's events. For more infor-mation, Google: Dr. Alphabet, Poetry Parade, Word Ways, and Kickshaws as well as Dave Morice on YouTube, Amazon and Bookfinder. Published works by Dave Morice are as follows:

- A Tourist's Guide to Computers, written & illus. by DM. Simon & Schuster
- Poetry Comics: A Cartooniverse of Poems, illus. by DM. Simon & Schuster
- More Poetry Comics: Abuse the Muse, illus. by DM. Chicago Review Press
- Poetry Comics: An Animated Anthology, illus. by DM. Teachers & Writers
- The Adventures of Dr. Alphabet: 104 Unusual Ways to Write Poetry in the
Classroom and the Community, written & illus. by DM. Teachers & Writers
- The Dictionary of Wordplay, written & illus. by DM. Teachers & Writers
- A Child's Garden of Grammar, by T. Disch, illus. by DM. U Press of New Eng.
- Poems 1971 (University of Iowa Workshop thesis), by DM. Al Buck Press
- Tilt (Poems), by DM. Toothpaste Press
- Catalog of the Wooden Nickel Art Project, ed by DM. Happy Press
- The Cutist Anthology, written & illus. by DM. Happy Press
- Crazy English, by Richard Lederer, illus. by DM, by Chicago Review Press
- Fractured English, by Richard Lederer, illus. by DM. Chicago Review Press
- Alphabet Avenue, written & illus. by DM. Chicago Review Press
- The Cunning Linguist, by Richard Lederer, illus. by DM. St Martin's Press
- The Word Circus, by Richard Lederer, illus. by DM. Merriam-Webster
- The 10th J, writen by DM, (under Joyce Holland). Toothpaste Press
- The Final E, written by DM (under Joyce Holland). X Press
- Alphabet Anthology, ed by DM (under Joyce Holland). X Press
- A Visit from St Alphabet, written & illus by DM, Coffee House Press
- Happy Birthday Handbook, written & illus, by DM, Toothpaste Press
- Dot Town, written & illus. by DM. Toothpaste Press
- Sacred Clowns Holy Fools (Poems by Steve Toth, Parodied by DM). Poetry Vortex Publishing
- The Great American Fortune Cookie Novel. written by DM and hundreds of co-authors, illustrated by Daniel J. Erusha. Sackter House Media
- Haloosa Nation. written by DM, illustrated by Danny Morice, Introduction by Joyce Holland. JoMo Publishing
- Backwords Planet (in press)
- Limerick Inferno (in press)
- The Idiot and The Oddity (in press)
- The Wooden Nickle Art Project (in press)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic words, terrific 'toons! Magical wordplay circus!, December 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Word Circus (Lighter Side of Language) (Hardcover)

I never dreamt there could be a book about language that was so much fun. Richard Lederer's text truly creates a circus, complete with acrobats, clowns, animal tamers, lions, tigers--wow! Dave Morice's hilarious cartoons leap off the page and fly through the air with the greatest of ease. There must be at least 300 drawings in so many different styles that there's a surprise on every page. It's amazing that Lederer and Morice have produced a book where words and pictures interact as perfectly as they do. I've never seen this done so well before. This must be the greatest, most entertaining wordplay book of all. I hope they put together a new show soon! Encore!

6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Jumping words? They're addictive., September 6, 1998

By 

Gene Holmerud (Phoenix, AZ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Word Circus (Lighter Side of Language) (Hardcover)

I have been fortunate to have a pre-publication copy of Word Circus. This is the first time I have enjoyed my native language!

My prior reactions to composition and reading pushed me to computerdom and geekdom. Word Circus showed me our language too has those twists and relationships that I find appealing in computerdom. Richard Lederer has put together more twists and relationships in this book than a year of soap operas!

Besides, it's a hoot!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Word Circus, March 4, 2000

By 

Joseph O'Neill - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Word Circus (Lighter Side of Language) (Hardcover)

Word Circus is a wonderfully entertaining look at the English language. The cartoon illustrations are a great addition. Well worth a look if you are interested in the many different ways the English language can be used to amuse, or confuse.